Djokovic doctor scolds Australia on plans to deport 'super healthy' star

The doctor widely credited with helping Novak Djokovic to reach the pinnacle of tennis has criticised Australia for twice cancelling the Serbian star's visa and detaining him over Covid technicalities, saying he is "super healthy".

"It's absurd that somebody who has optimal health is a threat to the health of the public," said Dr Igor Cetojevic, said on Friday.

Australia stripped Djokovic of his visa on Friday and plans to detain him, just days ahead of his bid to win a record-breaking 21st Grand Slam title at the Australian Open in Melbourne.

Djokovic, an avowed Covid-19 vaccine sceptic, is the tournament's top seed and had been practising on the Melbourne Park courts just hours before Immigration Minister Alex Hawke's bombshell decision was announced.

Cetojevic, who spent a year on tour with Djokovic until 2011, when he won Wimbledon for the first time and became world number one, said the unvaccinated Serb was being treated unfairly.

"How can a super healthy guy be a threat for the Australian Open," the 60-year-old doctor said, laughing out loud.

"It's all politics, it starts with politics, not anything else," said Cetojevic, who describes himself as a qualified medical doctor who uses energetical medicine, Chinese medicine and a holistic approach to healing.

READ MORE: Djokovic faces deportation as Australia revokes his visa for second time

'Wrong petrol'

Many of the remedies that he has turned to have been dismissed by his critics as quackery, but Cetojevic leapt to his defence.

Asked whether Djokovic's performance would be harmed if he were to get a vaccine against the coronavirus, he said, "Definitely".

"Let's call things by their right name," he said in an interview at his home near the southern Cypriot city of Limassol.

"These so-called vaccines are, in fact, experimental products that have not been clinically proven."

"I'm seeing patients these days, ordinary people who followed the recommendation to be injected, who are now facing major health issues."

"If you have the best car for Formula One and you put the wrong petrol inside, what will happen?" the doctor said, adding that Djokovic understood this analogy from his own experience.

READ MORE: Stefanos Tsitsipas: Novak Djokovic makes other players 'look like fools'

Aussie authorities to detain Djokovic

Australia said on Friday it will detain Djokovic this weekend.

The government is "firmly committed to protecting Australia's borders, particularly in relation to the Covid-19 pandemic," Immigration Minister Alex Hawke said in a statement.

He cited "health and good order grounds" for the decision and said "it was in the public interest to do so".

Prime Minister Scott Morrison backed the decision, "Australians have made many sacrifices during this pandemic, and they rightly expect the result of those sacrifices to be protected."

Djokovic flew into Melbourne on January 5 claiming a vaccine exemption because of a positive PCR test result on December 16.

Border agents rejected his exemption, revoked his visa and placed him in a notorious detention centre where he spent four nights.

The Australian government insists a recent infection does not qualify as a vaccine exemption for foreign nationals trying to enter the country.

READ MORE: Djokovic in Australian Open draw despite visa uncertainty